Disneyland to introduce MaxPass (New Fastpass & New Fastpass Attractions) - Now with Poll

[VandVsmama]

I really don't think that it's going to be quite as disastrous as we might think. And it's because of the AP holder market.

Most DL visitors only visit for 1 day or part of a day. A lot of us have to travel vast distances to get to DL and, as a result, we all plan our vacations around a DL trip, so we DO plan way in advance.

But most DL visitors don't plan in advance. They might decide that Friday evening, "Hey! Let's go to Disneyland tomorrow!" or "Let's go to Disneyland TODAY!"

One important difference between this MaxPass thing and WDW's FP+ is that you will NOT be able to book a specific ride time. Nor can you do it before you get to DL or DCA. You can't do it at home. You can't do it in the Mickey & Friends parking garage. You have to be physically located in DL or DCA. This basically means that grabbing your FP using MaxPass will utilize the locator feature on your smart phone. Disney is going to use your phone's GPS in order to confirm that you are, in fact, in DL or DCA.

And when you grab your electronic FP, it'll be for whatever the FP window happens to be at that moment. like the DL app shows you today, it will likely still display what the current FP return times are. So if you want to ride RSR after dark, but the DL app says that current return times are 12-1pm, then you don't use MaxPass to get your RSR FP yet. You wait and go on other rides and while you're on those other rides, then you check it again and when the FP return time says some time in the evening when it'll be dark, THEN you get your electronic FP.

I think that Matterhorn is going to eliminate Single Rider line and use the Single Rider space for the FP line.

 

[rowan1813]

I think it is odd that they made this announcement without also having the details ready as to how this will work for AP holders, price wise.

Maybe they wanted to gauge reaction from AP holders on social media before finalizing the pricing structure.

That very well could be but I can see quite a bit of AP holders that just won't pay for this. Many are local and don't come on property until later on in the evenings, where either the FPs are completely out or they just won't pay $10 for a couple of hours. Being a Signature AP holder, I already get unlimited PP downloads so the only thing it would save me would be walking but I'm not going to pay $10 to not walk. That isn't worth it to me.

I will be interested to see how this pans out for the RunDisney races and if the PP downloads will include your race photos.

 

[DLgal]

That very well could be but I can see quite a bit of AP holders that just won't pay for this. Many are local and don't come on property until later on in the evenings, where either the FPs are completely out or they just won't pay $10 for a couple of hours. Being a Signature AP holder, I already get unlimited PP downloads so the only thing it would save me would be walking but I'm not going to pay $10 to not walk. That isn't worth it to me.

I will be interested to see how this pans out for the RunDisney races and if the PP downloads will include your race photos.

Well, the current version of free PP downloads DOES include Run Disney events. I got all the photos from the Tinkerbell 10k last year. I also have a Signature AP.

I go to the parks a lot. I would pay for the Max pass if it was reasonable (like $50/year total). It's not worth more than that for us, considering we are a family of four and one of our sons has a DAS. But I would pay for it for myself, for the times I visit the park solo.

 

[VandVsmama]

Looking down the road to Star Wars Land, I would TOTALLY pay $40 for 1 day for us to be able to grab electronic FPs for a Star Wars Land attraction. Yes. Take my money. Would I spend $120-$200 for a 3-5 day trip? No. But one day? Yes.

The current attractions that have FPs are not enough of a draw for me to be willing to pay $40 for the 4 of us for even ONE day of MaxPass, though. I'm willing to hoof it across the park to get FPs.

I'm glad that they're adding FP to Toy Story. We'll still plan on riding it within the first hour of park opening in the Standby line, though.

 

[DLgal]

One important difference between this MaxPass thing and WDW's FP+ is that you will NOT be able to book a specific ride time. Nor can you do it before you get to DL or DCA. You can't do it at home. You can't do it in the Mickey & Friends parking garage. You have to be physically located in DL or DCA. This basically means that grabbing your FP using MaxPass will utilize the locator feature on your smart phone. Disney is going to use your phone's GPS in order to confirm that you are, in fact, in DL or DCA


.

Ever heard of GPS spoofing? There are apps that can make your phone appear to be at any location you choose...

I suspect Disney will require your ticket to have been scanned that day before you can make a FP reservation.

 

[VandVsmama]

That very well could be but I can see quite a bit of AP holders that just won't pay for this. Many are local and don't come on property until later on in the evenings, where either the FPs are completely out or they just won't pay $10 for a couple of hours. Being a Signature AP holder, I already get unlimited PP downloads so the only thing it would save me would be walking but I'm not going to pay $10 to not walk. That isn't worth it to me.

I will be interested to see how this pans out for the RunDisney races and if the PP downloads will include your race photos.

I think this is a valid point. On the flip side of this, consider if the FP attraction had been offline for a few days or a couple of weeks or a couple of months for refurbishment. When stuff like that comes back online, I've often seen the queues for those attractions mobbed with lines of something crazy like 2 hours long because every local wants to go on JUST that ride.

And since they live nearby, it's not a big deal to them to spend 2+ hours waiting in line to go on just ONE ride. For example, think back to when the Finding Nemo submarines debuted. For that first week, the lines were 4 hours long.

Now look at that same situation differently....
As an AP holder or anybody visiting DL just after Finding Nemo submarines debuted, what if they temporarily had FP available for that attraction ("temporary" being a few weeks) and you could pay $10 to get an electronic FP right after you entered the park. I have a few So Cal friends who would totally do that.

 

[wanderlust7]

I know DLR has said time and time again that they are not getting Magic Bands, but it really seems like having them would make this situation SO much easier.

My opinion would change for the worse. I wouldn't pay $10/person/day just for those two rides. Now, if I could access all the rides with FastPass on the MaxPass AND could access Matterhorn and Toy Story in addition, that would change my opinion for the better.

I was just thinking too that Magic Bands would make things easier. I'm picturing a backlog as people try to scan their phone and then having to swipe to get to another person's FP - repeat for all in their family, and the CM having to keep track how many people were scanned.

Luckily, it sounds like the Matterhorn and Toy Story new FPs will have paper FP as well. From a reply in the blog comments section:

"These new locations, as well as all existing locations, will continue to offer Disney FASTPASS service at no cost, just as they do today."

 

[Jennafoo]

One thing to note... The Disney blog post is very clear at every point that $10 is an introductory price. We could well see the price go up if it's successful (in whatever way DL is measuring success).

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

I can't even. So instead of adopting WDW's amazing, very well received, and free mobile FP booking system, DLR is going to model itself after Six Flags and *upcharge* guests for the "privilege" of using a modern ride-reservation system? That's one hell of a shark for TDA to jump. Disgusting.

You know, after many years as a DLR vet and evangelist, I've felt DLR dying for me little by little for the past couple of years. Vandalizing the Rivers of America. Destroying the ranch area. Evicting the railroad from the berm. Shutting down Fantasmic, the train, and all watercraft for two years. Ripping the classic theme out of Tower of Terror. Refusing to install in-park wifi. Raising 365-day AP prices by 75 percent. Refusing to go near the New Technology project for years after its rollout in Orlando.

But this really takes the cake for me. My partner and I started visiting Disneyland together a few years ago because of how base and cut rate Six Flags felt to us locally. I took him to Disneyland and he instantly became a gigantic fan of the experience. Now the idea that something that has always been free at Disneyland is going to receive an "improvement" that is really a completely unhidden up charge when an even better and more useful version is still completely free in Orlando? Just, no.

In August of last year, when my partner and I visited Walt Disney World because we didn't want to deal with the construction impacts at Disneyland, and fell in love with Walt Disney World because of the wonderful improvements that have been made there in the past few years by Disneyland's former president, George Kalogridis, we just really couldn't believe it. At first we felt like refugees there from our beloved Anaheim parks. Then the news came about Tower of Terror. And in December, we went right back to Walt Disney World for our holiday trip instead of DLR. We thought maybe, just maybe we would end up loving Disneyland again after the construction as much as we had come to love Walt Disney World.

But after 15 years of being a Disneyland evangelist, this is the end point for me. I just cannot express how sickened I am by the idea that Disneyland would roll out a mobile fast pass reservation system that would charge guests at all, much less $10 per guest per day. As an "introductory" rate, at that.

I'm heartbroken but I'm out. Keep the better Pirates and Space Mountain. I'll take the 21st-century technology over in Orlando, and the lack of an upcharge for enjoying the privilege of it. After 15 years of going head to head with WDW vets about the joys of DLR, I'm done doing that. In August, when our first time ever Walt Disney World annual passes expire, we will just be renewing them for Orlando again.

Peace.

 

[LizzyS]

People are super overreacting to this, imo.

If you're disgusted with DLR, by all mean, please go elsewhere as that will make it less crowded when I go. I seldom ever even use FP because I get my tail out of bed early and do the e tickets early in the day and I've never been disappointed.

This does not hamper your ability to enter the park or ride rides, it's just another upsell, of which is common in theme parks these days. Apparently it's a right to some people to be able to do the very best FP possible, lol.

 

[mom2rtk]

And when you grab your electronic FP, it'll be for whatever the FP window happens to be at that moment.

Have they confirmed that to be the case? Because that's definitely not how it is at WDW.

Ever heard of GPS spoofing? There are apps that can make your phone appear to be at any location you choose...

I suspect Disney will require your ticket to have been scanned that day before you can make a FP reservation.

I really hope they make this inoperable until the ticket has been scanned.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

One thing to note... The Disney blog post is very clear at every point that $10 is an introductory price. We could well see the price go up if it's successful (in whatever way DL is measuring success).

Hmm or you could take introductory as $10 for a one day ticket but less per day if you are adding it to a multi day ticket.
It will be exciting to see how it all plays out.

 

[tarheelalum]

Is it just me or does this sound remarkably GREEDY to you as well? I'm really getting sick of this crap.

 

[mom2rtk]

I'm not understanding why people think the FPs will all be gone for the day after the initial rush first thing in the morning. I understand it to be that you can still only get one FP at a time and have to wait the two hours before getting another one (or waiting until the current FP is usable). The only difference is you won't have to physically go to the FP machine. You can't schedule all the FPs for the day when you 1st enter the park, can you? You're just paying for the privilege of not having to walk all over the park, right?

Because people who previously didn't want to run across the park to pull a FP can now get one right on their phone. The easier it is, the more people will avail themselves of it. And they can pull the new one with a minimum of effort as well, so they are far more likely to keep pulling them at the first opportunity.

I think people will be shocked at how much faster they go.

 

[wanderlust7]

Have they confirmed that to be the case? Because that's definitely not how it is at WDW.

I really hope they make this inoperable until the ticket has been scanned.

This was the response to a question in the comments section of the Disney blog:

"Disney MaxPass will operate similarly to the current Disney FASTPASS system, meaning you will be able to reserve one FASTPASS at a time."

I would think that the ticket will need to be scanned first, just like how it is for paper FP.

 

[GatorChris]

First, Disney just raised the price of the daily ticket by $10. Cash grab.

Next, I bought 4 APs and a Signature AP so I wouldn't have to pay for anything else for a whole year (Signature gets parking and photopass included). So that means my already too expensive AP just went up in price to get this experience (offered for free at WDW). Cash grab.

The next time we go in February, we WILL NOT get the MP. And then we'll feel the pinch as we go to all of our favorite rides and realize the FPs are gone for the first 3-6 hours before we even walk to them. That'll make me want to get MP the next time I'm in. Cash grab.

I can't wait to walk through those gates and .... run into a mass of people staring at their phones (including me), running into each other. Magic GONE. But since we're all looking down, now Disney doesn't have to pay for entertainment when you walk in. Cash savings for them. We'll just call it another cash grab.

#1 Point - And when you all realize this will apply to WoC and F!, and then realize that all those FPs will be gone in minutes if you don't have the MaxPass, you'll start paying for it, too. Cash grab.

The key is for EVERYONE to say "forget you, Disney" and not pay for the extra fee. Of course, that'll never happen. So get used to paying for this service in the future. This gives me more than enough reason to finally return to my favorite resort, Walt Disney World. I've avoided going there since FP+ came in 2013. But since we're going to have it shoved down our throats in Anaheim, it makes sense for me to start looking at Orlando again once my DL AP runs out. Or maybe Hawaii or Aruba or some other non-stress-laden, non-headache-producing vacation.

What a freaking shame. The easy relaxed pace of DL was just executed by cash grabbing execs.

 

[10SE]

We split up like this a lot too. The way I'm envisioning it is the tickets will need to be attached to a Disney account (like at WDW) and you can pick which person(s) you want the FPs for. When we split up, DH will just log in to my account with the app on his phone and use the FPs.

Without seeing it in action - all conjecture though!

Or the info is saved to the ticket/AP and you just scan that at the ride. So you'd use the app to add the FP to anyone in your party that has paid the $10, but then they'd only have to have their ticket to get on the ride

 

[msb578]

From reading this thread, I'm starting to feel that Disney is playing WDW fans vs DLR fans to its advantage. Anecdotally: When FP+ was introduced at WDW, many people were outraged; some of those people said they'd take their business to DLR. Now I'm seeing the first indications of the opposite.

They haven't lost me. I'm fairly regular at WDW and I'm planning my first visit to DLR- and I'm excited about it.

But if you really want to vote with your wallet, I recommend staying away from Disney Parks entirely.

 

[Tink1987]

I can't even. So instead of adopting WDW's amazing, very well received, and free mobile FP booking system, DLR is going to model itself after Six Flags and *upcharge* guests for the "privilege" of using a modern ride-reservation system? That's one hell of a shark for TDA to jump. Disgusting.

You know, after many years as a DLR vet and evangelist, I've felt DLR dying for me little by little for the past couple of years. Vandalizing the Rivers of America. Destroying the ranch area. Evicting the railroad from the berm. Shutting down Fantasmic, the train, and all watercraft for two years. Ripping the classic theme out of Tower of Terror. Refusing to install in-park wifi. Raising 365-day AP prices by 75 percent. Refusing to go near the New Technology project for years after its rollout in Orlando.

But this really takes the cake for me. My partner and I started visiting Disneyland together a few years ago because of how base and cut rate Six Flags felt to us locally. I took him to Disneyland and he instantly became a gigantic fan of the experience. Now the idea that something that has always been free at Disneyland is going to receive an "improvement" that is really a completely unhidden up charge when an even better and more useful version is still completely free in Orlando? Just, no.

In August of last year, when my partner and I visited Walt Disney World because we didn't want to deal with the construction impacts at Disneyland, and fell in love with Walt Disney World because of the wonderful improvements that have been made there in the past few years by Disneyland's former president, George Kalogridis, we just really couldn't believe it. At first we felt like refugees there from our beloved Anaheim parks. Then the news came about Tower of Terror. And in December, we went right back to Walt Disney World for our holiday trip instead of DLR. We thought maybe, just maybe we would end up loving Disneyland again after the construction as much as we had come to love Walt Disney World.

But after 15 years of being a Disneyland evangelist, this is the end point for me. I just cannot express how sickened I am by the idea that Disneyland would roll out a mobile fast pass reservation system that would charge guests at all, much less $10 per guest per day. As an "introductory" rate, at that.

I'm heartbroken but I'm out. Keep the better Pirates and Space Mountain. I'll take the 21st-century technology over in Orlando, and the lack of an upcharge for enjoying the privilege of it. After 15 years of going head to head with WDW vets about the joys of DLR, I'm done doing that. In August, when our first time ever Walt Disney World annual passes expire, we will just be renewing them for Orlando again.

Peace.

I love this, it sums up what I wanted to say but so much better then I ever could. I am not a local to any park but am a lifelong Disney fan. I was in near tears a few weeks ago at a restaurant in MK because one of the chefs were talking to a group of guests on the day the alcohol at the 4 MK restaurants announcement had just been made, he said they were just money grabbing now and he had a lot of cost cuts to make. It upsets me that this is what Disney is doing.

Call it overreacting all you want but where does it stop? To see a caring cast member who has worked for Disney for over 35 years say things like that was upsetting.

 

[ClaraOswald]

Haven't read all 4 pages yet. But as someone who never uses photopass....this is pretty useless. All it does it save a tiny bit of walking? For my family of 3 for 5 days that's $150. I'd rather spend that on food or souvenirs or something.

I am annoyed that the addition of FP for the Matterhorn and Toy Story will crowd up the walkways even more. Blech.